The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has so far removed 103 million square meters of nets from the waters, removing approximately 800 thousand square meters of nets from the waters, and prevented 2,5 million aquatic creatures from dying by being caught in nets, with the works carried out to clean the country's waters from ghost nets.
Fishing gears, also known as "ghost nets", that are abandoned in the seas or inland waters due to ground structure, weather conditions, conflicts of fishing gear or usage errors during aquaculture in Turkey as well as all over the world, cause serious damage to the ecosystem and biodiversity. . These nets cause the death of aquatic organisms and the extinction of the aquatic products to be produced without gaining economic value.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry also carries out various projects in order to clean them from the sea and to protect aquatic creatures.
In 2014, the “Cleaning the Seas from Abandoned Hunting Vehicles Project” was implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Fisheries and Fisheries, in order to clean up ghost nets and raise public awareness. Inland waters were also included in the project with the success achieved.
The locations of the lost nets were determined through interviews with fishermen, and ghost fishing gear was retrieved with the participation of relevant NGOs, fishermen, some municipalities, universities and some companies.
Within the scope of the project, ghost hunting has been carried out so far in Istanbul, Kocaeli, Tekirdağ, Yalova, Balıkesir, Çanakkale, Bursa, İzmir, Mersin, Hatay, Adana, Muğla, Sinop, Konya, Isparta, Ankara, Diyarbakır, Muş, Batman, Van and Bitlis. vehicles were cleaned and services were carried out for the sustainability of the ecosystem and the protection of aquatic biodiversity.
NUMBER OF RELEASED GHOST NETS INCREASED 254,8 PERCENT IN ONE YEAR
When the internal waters are emphasized in the studies carried out by the Ministry, as of last year, 20 million 264 thousand square meters of area was dredged in the rivers and lakes in Ankara, Diyarbakır, Muş, Batman, Van and Bitlis, 36 thousand 29 square meters of net and 290 thousand 10 baskets, pinters and similar products were dredged in 500 regions. abandoned fishing gear retrieved from the waters.
In the works carried out in Balıkesir, Bursa, Çanakkale, Tekirdağ, Kocaeli, Istanbul and Yalova within the scope of the Marmara Sea Action Plan during the mucilage period, 1 million 699 thousand 68 square meters of area was scanned, 85 thousand 211 square meters and 300 baskets, algarna and similar abandoned areas in 16 regions. The fishing gear was cleared from the waters.
Within the scope of the project, work was accelerated and 2022 percent more ghost nets, 2021 percent more baskets, pinters and other fishing gear were removed from the waters in 254,8 compared to 158,5.
With the project, 792 million square meters of area has been dredged in 103 regions so far, and approximately 800 thousand square meters of net and 35 thousand baskets, algarna and similar abandoned fishing gear have been cleared from the waters.
THIS YEAR'S TARGET IS TO CLEAN MORE THAN 100 SQUARE METERS OF GHOST NETS
At the opening of the fishing season, in order to raise awareness, ghost nets, plastic bottles and vehicle tires are collected from fishing shelters as well as marine garbage.
As a result of the studies, it is evaluated that approximately 2,5 million aquatic creatures are prevented from dying by being caught in nets.
While it is planned to continue work in new areas this year, it is aimed to remove more than 100 thousand square meters of ghost nets.
Carrying out awareness activities in Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Elazig, Eskişehir, Konya, Isparta, Muğla, Samsun and Van are also included in the plans.
CORALS RETURNED TO ITS OLD VITALITY
The red coral (corallium rubrum) fields, which are concentrated in the Ayvalık region of Balikesir in Turkey and whose hunting is prohibited, were included in the project.
In addition, the abandoned nets that caused the corals to lose their vitality were cleaned and red corals, which lost their vitality and lost all their visuality and functions, were regained their previous vitality and visuality.
NETWORKS ARE RECYCLED
Some of the ghost nets removed within the scope of the project were delivered to municipalities and regional farmers to be used for different purposes.
The unusable nets were destroyed, and their metal parts were recycled.
In addition, some of the removed nets are recycled through NGOs and studies are carried out to use them in different areas of the industry.